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Notes Tough Day for Kendall

By

TROON, Scotland -- Skip Kendall slept in and still had to wait more than four hours for his tee time Saturday in the British Open. Once he got started, it didn't take long for him to lose the lead.

Kendall bogeyed the first hole, fell one shot behind on the next hole and finally ended the third round with a 4-over 75 that dropped him five shots out of the lead.

'A combination of I didn't hit it quite as well, didn't have quite as many opportunities,' Kendall said. 'What opportunities I did have, I didn't take advantage by making any putts.'

Kendall was a surprising leader after a 66 in the second round gave him a one-shot lead and a 3:30 p.m. tee time. He stayed up late watching movies, slept in until 11 a.m. and watched another movie.

'Probably the hardest thing is waiting until 3:30 to play,' he said. 'That's a long time.'

His round started poorly with a ball that kicked left into the rough, leading to a bogey. Kendall made several good par saves, but those were the only putts he made. His round got away from him with bogeys on the 12th and 13th, and missing the green on the par-3 17th for his fourth bogey.

'I just hope I'll have a round like one of the first two days,' he said. 'Not like today.'

LOVE HURTSDavis Love III got off to a terrific start, making a 6-foot birdie on the first, chipping in from 35 feet on the second and holing an 8-foot birdie on the fourth to get within three shots of the lead.

He had a chance to get even closer on the par-5 sixth, but it all went wrong with one bad lie.

In the clumpy rough right of the fairway, Love's club got hung up in the thick grass and he shanked it. The ball took off on a 45-degree angle into a huge gorse bush. When he realized where it was, Love gave up and went back to his original spot. Even when four fans climbed into the prickly bush and found it, Love told them not to worry.

He took his two-shot penalty, scrambled for double bogey and didn't make another birdie until the 18th for a 71. Love was at 1-under 212.

FASHION UPDATEIan Poulter is brash when it comes to his clothing, and his golf.

The Englishman who wore Union Jack trousers in the opening round went with something only slightly more subtle Saturday -- pink shoes, pink knee-high socks, black trousers and a pink cap.

More people are talking about his apparel than his game, but Poulter doesn't mind.

'My golf game definitely backs up what I wear on the golf course,' he said after a 71, which left him at 1-over 214 for the championship. 'I'm not fazed by people's comments.'

Poulter, 28, has three victories on the European tour.

'As long as I keep playing like this in these tournament, my time will come,' he said.

He said he most likely would auction his clothes from the British Open and give the money to charity. His son had a high fever last week and was hospitalized for two days at York Hill in Glasgow.

'They got him back fit and healthy,' Poulter said. 'I'll make a donation to them from the proceeds of the trousers.'

ON THE MARKMark Calcavecchia had an unusual 69 in the third round that didn't put him into contention, but gave him a chance for his third straight top-10 finish at Royal Troon.

Calcavecchia's birdies came on the three par 5s, and his lone bogey came at the Postage Stamp par-3 eighth hole.

'I didn't have a 5 on my card today, and that's hard to do at Royal Troon,' he said. 'And I had a good time doing it.'

Calcavecchia won the 1989 British Open at Royal Troon for his only major. He returned in 1997 and tied for 10th. He made the cut on the number Friday at 3-over 145, and finished Saturday at 1-over 214 and a tie for 23rd.

'I'm no threat to win the tournament,' he said. 'I'd love to have a great round tomorrow and maybe squeak up there into the top 10 again. Historically, when I play a course well I usually play it well most of the time.'

MONEY MATTERSBased on Friday's exchange rate, the purse at the British Open (4 million pounds) translates to about $7.49 million, the largest of the four major championships. The winner will get $1,348,272.

Retief Goosen earned $1,125,000 for winning the U.S. Open, while Phil Mickelson got $1.17 million at the Masters.

The largest official payoff in golf is 1 million pounds (about $1.88 million) at the World Match Play Championship in England. The biggest on the PGA Tour is $1.44 million at The Players Championship.

DIVOTSSean Whiffin was alone in the first tee time, so he brought along David Andrews, the assistant pro at Royal Troon, as a marker. Whiffin shot a 71. ... Chris DiMarco's tough week of travel finally caught up to him. DiMarco had one flight canceled and another delayed, so he didn't arrive at Troon until Wednesday night. He opened with 71-71, but a 78 on Saturday knocked him out of the tournament. ... Sandy Lyle made three double bogeys on the back nine and shot an 81. Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Scott Verplank are the only players to break par all three days. ... Vijay Singh started the third round only three shots behind, but went bogey-double bogey-double bogey when he made the turn and shot 76 to fall nine shots behind.

Related Links:

Leaderboard - 133rd Open Championship

TV Airtimes

British Open Photo Gallery

Full Coverage - 133rd Open Championship

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